EEX Group: Significant Growth In Sales Achieved In The First Half Of 2015 - EEX Grows In Existing Business Fields As Well As Through The Full Consolidation Of Its New Subsidiaries – Positive Outlook For The Entire Year

The European Energy Exchange (EEX) continued along its growth course from previous years and was able to significantly increase revenue and results in the first half of 2015.

Sales revenue (EEX Group)

EEX Group sales revenue rose by 161 percent to a total of EUR 87.8 million. The full consolidation of the new EEX Group companies accounted for a large share of this increase. EEX Group revenue rose by 46 percent to EUR 49.2 million (first half of 2014: EUR 33.7 million) after adjustment for these one-off effects.

Iris Weidinger, Chief Financial Officer of EEX, explains: “Even though the growth of the sales revenue is essentially based on the full consolidation of further companies within EEX Group, our business fields have consistently developed positively irrespective of these one-off effects.” Since 1 January 2015, EPEX SPOT and Powernext have been fully consolidated by EEX, while APX (incl. Belpex) has been fully consolidated since May 2015.

Earnings before taxes (EBT)

Earnings before taxes (EBT) were EUR 79.7 million in the first half of 2015. Adjusted for one-off effects, the EBT increased by 72 percent to EUR 21.3 million (first half of 2014: EUR 12.4 million). Additionally, the full consolidation of EPEX SPOT, Powernext and APX (incl. Belpex) contributed EUR 8.6 million to the EBT. EUR 49.7 million came from the disclosure of hidden reserves at EPEX SPOT.

Power Derivatives Market (EEX)

In the first half of 2015, the transaction revenue on the Power Derivatives Market rose by 82 percent to EUR 28.2 million (first half of 2014: EUR 15.5 million). The sales contribution from the Italian power market grew significantly by
 

EUR 3.3 million to a total of EUR 4.0 million compared to the same period in 2014. Furthermore, the contribution of the French power market, which at EUR 3.1 million was EUR 2.6 million higher than in the previous year, also increased significantly. The new offering for Spanish, Greek and Swiss power futures has also contributed to this development. 

Power Spot Market (EPEX SPOT)

In the first half of the year, the development of the transaction revenue on the Power Spot Markets was influenced by the full consolidation of EPEX SPOT. While, in the previous year, only the revenue from clearing of the transactions concluded on EPEX SPOT were counted, the revenue from trading on EPEX SPOT and, since May 2015, APX (incl. Belpex) was also considered for the first half of 2015.

Natural gas (PEGAS)

In the natural gas segment, the transaction revenue also increased significantly against the previous year. In addition to the increased revenue from trading in the individual market areas, this was influenced by the full consolidation of Powernext. The turnover generated in the previous year exclusively comprised trading on the German spot and derivatives market for natural gas as well as on the Dutch gas spot market. Since January 2015, the entire gas market activities of the EEX Group have been operated by Powernext. For this reason, in comparison with the previous year, the natural gas revenue generated in 2015 includes the trading and clearing fees for the French market areas as well as for the Dutch gas derivatives market.  

Emission allowances (EEX)

At EUR 0.7 million, the revenue within the emission allowance business segment declined slightly against the value achieved in the previous year (EUR 0.8 million). While the revenue declined on the secondary market, EEX was able to slightly increase sales on the primary market.

Clearing cooperations (ECC)

The transaction revenue from the clearing cooperations of European Commodity Clearing (ECC) comprises clearing for all partner exchanges which are not fully consolidated within EEX Group. Therefore, as against the previous year, the revenue from clearing for Powernext is now considered part of the natural gas division on account of the full consolidation.

Info products and other revenue

In the Info products division, sales of EUR 1.4 million were generated in the first half of the year – up from EUR 0.7 million in the first half of 2014. Other revenues rose to EUR 16.7 million (first half of 2014: EUR 5.0 million). This, for example, includes annual fees, fixed fees for technical connections and market coupling. Full consolidation effects were observed in both segments in this case. 

Cleartrade Exchange (CLTX)

The sales revenue of CLTX, which operates the markets for freight, iron ore, fuel oil and fertilisers, was EUR 0.5 million in the first half of 2015 and, therefore, increased by EUR 0.2 million compared to the previous year.

Outlook

With a view to the extremely positive development in the first half of 2015, EEX has a very positive outlook for the rest of the year. Peter Reitz, CEO of EEX, explains: “We will continue our growth course in the second half of the year, and our new products will definitely contribute to this growth. Today, we have launched trading in option contracts for power from France, Italy and Spain and, from 14 September, trading participants can hedge against price peaks on the intraday market on EEX with the help of the Cap Future.”

The European Energy Exchange (EEX) is the leading energy exchange in Europe. It develops, operates and connects secure, liquid and transparent markets for energy and commodity products. At EEX, contracts on Power, Coal and Emission Allowances as well as Freight and Agricultural Products are traded or registered for clearing. Alongside EEX, EPEX SPOT (incl. APX-Belpex), Powernext, Cleartrade Exchange (CLTX) and Gaspoint Nordic are also part of EEX Group. Clearing and settlement of trading transactions are provided by the clearing house European Commodity Clearing (ECC).